Monday, February 25, 2013

Recruiting Update: February 25, 2013

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Paramus (NJ) Catholic offensive tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'6", 310 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Florida State, and West Virginia, among others. He's the #25 offensive tackle to 247 Sports. His teammate is big-time cornerback prospect Jabrill Peppers, who also holds a Michigan offer.

River Ridge (LA) John Curtis wide receiver Malachi Dupre was offered by Michigan. Dupre is a 6'2", 190 lb. wideout with offers from Clemson, Florida State, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and UCLA, among others. He claims a 4.55 forty and is the #59 overall player to 247 Sports. As a junior in 2012, he had 36 catches for 816 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Greensboro (NC) Page defensive end Lorenzo Featherston was offered by Michigan. Featherston is a 6'7", 220 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, and Tennessee, among others. As a junior in 2012, he had 58 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. He's the #21 overall player to 247 Sports and #108 to Rivals.

Naples (FL) Barron Collier defensive tackle Brady Pallante was offered a grayshirt scholarship by Michigan. Pallante is a 6'1", 275 lb. prospect with no other offers at this time. A grayshirt is a scholarship in which the player pays his own way through school for a semester before getting a scholarship once some current players graduate. For example, as a part of the 2014 class, Pallante would pay his own way through school and not join the football team until January 2015, at which time he would join Michigan's football team for spring practices and be on scholarship (potentially) from the 2015-2019 seasons. Despite the lack of a great recruiting profile, Pallante is a solid nose tackle prospect. What he lacks in size and athleticism, he makes up for in strength and technique.

New Orleans (LA) St. Augustine cornerback Jermaine Roberts was offered by Michigan. He's a 5'11", 175 lb. prospect with offers from Florida State, LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, and UCLA, among others. As a junior in 2012, he had 47 tackles, 9 interceptions, 13 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery touchdown, and 2 interceptions returned for touchdowns. Roberts has good speed and change of direction, and he also shows an ability to play physically. His teammate is fellow Michigan offeree Leonard Fournette, one of the top running backs in the country for 2014.

Westlake (LA) Westlake tight end Jacory Washington was offered by Michigan. Washington is a 6'5", 210 lb. prospect who is committed to LSU, and he also has offers from Auburn, Alabama, Texas A&M, and UCLA, among others. As a junior in 2012, he had 35 catches for 476 yards and 7 touchdowns. Washington is keeping an open mind despite being committed to the Tigers.

Bethlehem (PA) Liberty wide receiver K.J. Williams was offered by Michigan. Williams is a 6'2", 190 lb. wideout with offers from UConn, Pitt, Rutgers, and South Carolina, among others. As a junior in 2012, he had 59 receptions for 986 yards and 11 touchdowns. He's a big, physical kid with good speed who could also play safety at the next level.

River Ridge (LA) John Curtis linebacker Kenny Young was offered by Michigan. Young is a 6'2", 215 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, LSU, Texas A&M, and numerous others. He's a 4-star prospect to both Rivals and 247 Sports. John Curtis is the alma mater of former USC star Joe McKnight and former Michigan target Robby Green (Alabama).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Manlius (NY) Fayetteville-Manlius tight end Tyrone Wheatley, Jr. was offered by Michigan. Wheatley is a 6'6", 235 lb. rising junior who is the son of former Michigan (and New York Giants and Oakland Raiders) running back Tyrone Wheatley. This is the younger Wheatley's first offer. His father is the running backs coach for the Buffalo Bills.

Wheatley had a bit of a rep as a 'recruiter', so I think it's a good sign that he is in the NFL now. There may be legs to the idea that he could join the Michigan staff down the line, but if he keeps rising through the ranks, he might not be a positional coach for much longer.

Alot of coaches go directly from position coach to head coach, albeit at a lower level typically. Hoke, Meyer, Harbaugh are prominent examples. Harbaugh went from low-level assistant to take a 2 year job in the NFL then became a college head coach. Meyer bounced around coaching a bunch of positions and took the Bowling Green job with no HC or coordinator experience. Hoke was a DL coach pretty much exclusively and was handed the reigns at Ball State.

Just saying that Wheatley going to the NFL is a sign that he might not exactly be "the next Fred Jackson". He has ascended quickly from coaching his high school to a state playoffs to the NFL in just a few years. Since he can recruit and has rapidly building resume, it wouldn't shock me if he got offered a HC job at a lower level or maybe even a MAC-type school within the next few years.

Just saying - ambitious up-and-coming coaches aren't necessarily sitting around waiting to be a position coach at Michigan. Everyone assumed Harbaugh would take the HC job at Michigan if offered but he was moving too fast for that. It's possible that something similar will happen with Wheatley. Not saying he's going to be a super bowl head coach in the next decade, but if choosing between HC at CMU or RB coach at Michigan, the more ambitious route dictates taking the former.

IMO, Hart is a little more likely candidate when that spot opens up because he's at least a few years behind Wheatley at this point. But the same logic could apply to him if we're talking 5+ years down the line.